Hellbent on finding the truth
by SailorYue
Summary: IMMEDIATLY following the video Hellbent, Lewis and Arthur have a little talk


Hellbent was a ride, thats for sure!

...

.Arthur lay in the dark, heart pounding in utter shock over what just happened. The strange skeleton ghost from a while ago, who seemed to have a personal vendetta against him, just threw him off a cliff. Where the cliff came from was obviously an illusion considering Arthur landed on the hard floor of the monster truck he chased them in. But what REALLY got Arthur, was how just before dropping him, was how the ghost looked exactly like Lewis.

How? Why? Why Lewis? And how did that ghost know what he even looked like. He just couldn't wrap his brain around it. The pain in his shoulder wasn't helping. Something about that ghost shorted it out, and the impact of the fall certainly didn't help.

Arthur was so lost in thought he did not notice the well dressed shoes silently approach him until the ghost looked above him. It looked like a skeleton, so maybe he just imagined him looking like Lewis? Before Arthur had time to react, the ghost grabbed him by the shirt again, and slammed him into a wall. How a skeleton can show contempt baffled Arthur as the spirit just held him there.

"Ok Arthur, I was a reasonable man in life, I can be reasonable now. I'll give you one chance to answer this question. HOW you answer it determines what I do with you." Arthur gulped nervously, grabbing the skeletal arm with his good hand. "Why. Did. You. Kill. Me?"

Arthur was confused for a moment. "Kill you? I dont- I don't even KNOW you!"

He winced as the ghost pressed him harder against the wall, radiating heat as it glared hard at him.

"Then perhaps THIS will refresh your memory?" In a flash of pinkish purple fire he revealed a human face. It was a face that Arthur missed so much and spent the better part of a year looking for.

"Lewis? But h-how? Why do you l-look like him?"

Lewis twist his face in a scowl, blackened eyes full of contempt as he growled. "Because I AM Lewis, and YOU KILLED ME."

Arthur was confused. "K-killed you? What? No... I..."

All Arthur was doing was making Lewis more angry. His denial just made him want to return the favor more. But he wanted him to acknowledge the reason he was going to die tonight first.

"You expect me to believe that you just FORGOT what happened that night? That you hated me so much that it drove you to push me off this very cliff?" Using his magic he created the illusion of the cave again, Arthur squeaking in panick as the wall behind him seemed to vanish and he was held over the ravine again.

"Kill you? Lewis I've be-been looking for you! Where have- where have you been!?" Arthur managed to squeak out.

"Oh sure, Artie. Like I can believe you just don't remember killing me?"

Arthur kicked at the nothingness, wondering if he was going to be dropped again. "No! I swear on Galaham! I don't know what your talking about!"

Lewis felt this was getting nowhere, so he paused a second to reign in his temper. He'd give him a final chance to tell his side of the story. He stepped back and put Arthur down so his feet touched the ground, but maintaining a grip on the front of his shirt.

"Ok Arthur, then tell me. What happened that night I 'disappeared'?"

"Um, ok." Arthur scratched the back of his head. " You'll have to give me a minute, my memory's a little fuzzy about that night."

...

"We were doing our usually investigation, check out a spooky cave where people just vanish while exploring, it should have been pretty routine. But I had a bad feeling. But you and Vivi we're excited to check it out. I didn't want to go, but I also didn't want to ruin your fun so I kept my fears to myself. The cave itself was cold and creepy, it was all I could do to keep from running back to the van. You have no idea how grateful I was when you went with me on our exploration."

'Yeah, biggest and last mistake of my life it turned out.' thought Lewis, trying to keep quiet as Arthur told his story. The deadbeats where humming quietly as they circled above.

"The cave was so dark and cold. Very cold. Lewis... I don't think it's a good idea to be that close to the... No. I won't. I won't do it. He's my best friend!"

Arthur's eyes seemed to have glossed over, as if suddenly experiencing the memory live. Who he was talking to he didn't know, he sure as heck didn't remember any of what he was saying. Including the warning.

"No, please! No! No! Stop!" Arthur grabbed his left arm, as if stuggling to keep it by his side. The look on his face was strange. His left side was exactly what he remembered seeing as he fell to his death. A cold, gleeful grin, full of malice. But it was the look on the right side that caught him off guard. Fear. Sadness. Tears streaming down his face. He held the left arm out, and Lewis realized it was limp, as if it was broken.

"Lewis, please not Lewis! No don't!"

In an instant, Arthur yanked himself from Lewis's grip, holding his left hand out as he lunged for the end of the cliff illusion. Arthur fell to his knees and made a sound. It was the last sound Lewis remembered hearing. Had he still had his heart, it would have sunk. At the time of his death he thought it was Arthur laughing. It turned out they were sobs.

Arthur curled into himself still holding his arm. In a jerking motion he turned around, glaring in his direction. Before he could act Arthur reacted to something behind Lewis. He turned around to see nothing, not even any of the Deadbeats, who in all of this had grown quiet.

"What are you?" Arthur asked in a dark growl.

"Please help. Myst..." he whimpered, trailing off.

The next few seconds really caught Lewis off guard. In a jerking motion, Arthur tore off his left arm and threw it over the cliff. What? Lewis dropped the illusion of the cave and the arm hit the wall of the trailer. He realized then it wasn't a real arm, but rather a metal one. A prosthetic. One of the Deadbeats poked at it curiously. He turned back to Arthur who had tears rolling down both eyes now.

"Thanks buddy." He muttered to someone apparently only he could see, before closing his eyes.

Lewis stood there in silence trying to wrap his head around what he witnessed. The silence only lasted a minute before Arthur opened his eyes and looked around.

"Huh? What happened?" He asked perplexed. He tried getting up. "Wait, where's my arm?"

Lewis walked over to Arthur, and for the first time reached for him, not out of anger, but just to help. He gripped Arthur's good arm and hefted him to his feet. Then he pointed to the nearby wall where Arthur slung it.

"Thanks." He inspected the broken prosthetic. "Dang, it's totalled. At least we're at the shop-oh shit. Lance! He's going to kill me for the damages!"

Lewis would be remiss if he didn't miss Arthur's mile a minute train of thought process. Not even five minutes ago he was almost killed by his dead best friend and now he's worried about his uncle killing him over how his van crashed into the shop. He shook his head. He did have one more question.

"Arthur, how did you lose your arm?"

"Hm? I don't know, there was an accident. The night you went missing I..." He swallowed nervously. " If it weren't for Mystery, I'm sure more than my arm and you would have been lost."

Mystery huh? He wondered if he'd find his answers thru him.

"You're uh, not going to try to kill me again, are you?" Arthur clutched his mechanical arm to his chest, as if it would protect him.

Lewis thought a moment before answering. "No. It seems I was Gravely mistaken about the circumstances of my death."

"Oh, ok. Cool." Arthur seemed relieved at that. Then he realized what Lewis said. "DUDE! REALLY?"

"Just trying to lighten the mood." Considering the situation, he was actually surprised he could even remember how to make jokes.

Arthur just shook his head. The deadbeats started humming again, sensing his change in mood. They headed to the back entrance of the trailer. Lewis hoped he could soon get the answers he seeked.


End file.
